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Hi,
I am new to the board and my wife and i are researching retirement locations. We plan to vacation on STX in the fall, then next year when we sell our house here, we plan on moving down for 3 or 4 months to see if we like it.
Since we are not 65 (58 and 59) we are not eligible for medicare and will need to purchase health insurance. I was surprised when researching health care that the ACA does not apply to the US Territories and in talking to others found out that as of now, there are no insurance carriers selling health insurance for individuals.
We are looking into maintaining our residency back in the states and purchase a plan here for the 3 months we plan to use as our live and learn phase. But that does not give us a good feeling for a long term solution. We do have pre-existing conditions and that is why we were excited for the ACA.
Just wondering if there are others who have to purchase insurance locally and how it is working out for you. Is there really no insurance to purchase/ if you have it, are you like grandfathered in? Does anyone have an ACA plan in the states and are able to use in STX?
the lack of affordable health care could force us to stay in the states and to be honest, we really want to move out of the CONUS.
thanks for any info you can provide.
Posted : February 26, 2015 9:09 pm
they (at this time ) do not offer individual insurance in the virgin islands. maybe soon bcbs will.
if you have health issues, please check to see they have dr's for your condition. there is one dr i see that is only here 1 day a week and i love the dr but hate the waiting room on that one day. it is usually a 3 hour visit for something that should only be a 20 minute dr visit.
i have another dr i see who i have no problem seeing. usually in and out in 20 minutes
there have been some new stories about our hospitals-read those please.
hubbys last surgery we went to Puerto Rico and were very happy.
Posted : February 27, 2015 10:51 am
Best thing to do would be to ask you health care provider what their policy is if you vacation here 3 months but maintain your residency stateside. It may not be an issue in that case. You can obtain a different type policy here but costlier here than states.
Posted : February 27, 2015 11:03 am
...You can obtain a different type policy here but costlier here than states.
Which company is covering individuals now? I thought there were no options as of today.
Posted : February 27, 2015 2:50 pm
Tunic offers a product but it doesn't cover pre-existing conditions, excludes many things such as physical therapy and I thought, was pretty expensive for what it did cover.
I can't remember the name of the product but it's not the regular health care insurance as we still do not have providers for that in the territory, including AARP.
If I can locate the email with the info, I'll post it but it was over a month, or more, ago when I inquired and I get so much email that I tend to delete things regularly.
Posted : February 27, 2015 4:14 pm
...You can obtain a different type policy here but costlier here than states.
Which company is covering individuals now? I thought there were no options as of today.
I think Alana's addressing the OP's initial plan to spend a 3 month PMV here. That sort of supplementary coverage is available and several friends who live primarily stateside but spend several months a year here are covered by it.
Posted : February 27, 2015 4:15 pm
...You can obtain a different type policy here but costlier here than states.
Which company is covering individuals now? I thought there were no options as of today.
I think Alana's addressing the OP's initial plan to spend a 3 month PMV here.
Or not! 😀
Posted : February 27, 2015 4:16 pm
Found it!
Here's the response to my inquiry:
"Thank you for your interest in our agency and your website quote request for individual health insurance. At this time, and for the last 4 and ½ years, there have been no insurance companies providing individual/family comprehensive health insurance policies in the Virgin Islands. However, attached you will find information on a defined benefit individual and family product which is the next best thing!
The product is offered through Pan-American Life ( http://www.palig.com/) and is a Limited Benefit Plan providing first dollar coverage (no deductibles) to help with the cost of common medical services without pre-existing condition exclusions (with the exception of maternity). This product includes a:
Discount Prescription Card through The Medicine Shoppe, K-Mart, and Walgreens
This product will pay the benefit listed on the brochure even if the provider charges less than what is stated! And, one of the most attractive features of the product isn’t listed in the brochure. This is the Health Advocacy Department and it is an integral part of the product that works on your behalf to negotiate billing and payment arrangements with your providers after a claim has been submitted. They can also assist in scheduling appointments with providers, including hard-to-reach specialists!"
Posted : February 27, 2015 4:35 pm
